Speeches by Madders.

“Yes, I get that. Can I just ask a little bit more, Soumaya, on the long-term perspective? How long do we have? If you look at the penetration of Chinese producers into the car sector, they have got to a level that the Japanese got to in a fraction of the time. The price point they are hitting, even on the EV subsidies,…”

“It would need someone to make a fairly forceful political argument that this was in the national interest.”

“What sort of things do you think the UK Government could do to help? Could the Trade Remedies Authority have a role, or are there other things you would like to suggest?”

“Greg, could I just go back to the dilemma around what I would characterise as how far you push on these issues to untangle yourself? The point that you are making is that China is not going to be passive in this. Does this need a concerted political drive over a long period? Is there a point at which—we may have reache…”

“Looking at it from the other perspective, we had a long list of areas where China is more competitive. Do you think the Government would be better off trying to address UK competitiveness in those sectors instead?”

“A lot of the suggestions that you have come up with would effectively hit British households in terms of how much they are going to have to pay. Do you think that is a sustainable way forward in terms of where we are at the moment?”

“Thank you. That is very clear.”

“Professor Murphy, how are the Government doing in terms of eliminating forced labour from supply chains?”

“In the face of the local election results last week, it is undeniable that what we have done so far is not enough. The long tail of austerity means that we have so much more to do. People see a world moving at a rate of knots and are frustrated at this Government’s slow pace of change. We live in a world where we can o…”

“You are having the same conversations as you had when Russia invaded Ukraine, essentially. Are you getting the same responses?”

“I will ask the questions of the Leader of the Opposition, as that is how interventions work. Can I also suggest that, if she wants Government Back Benchers to support her motion, she should not be insulting us and calling us sheep? The critical question to which a lot of Back Benchers want to know the answer is: why no…”

“rose—”

“Adam, David, do you have any sense of whether there is a Government strategy to deal with the potential price shocks from the middle east conflict?”

“Could I jump in there? Please come back to what you were going to say in a minute. When you talk about developing our own oil and gas, do you mean preserving whatever is extracted for the UK market rather than putting it on the global market?”

“It is absolutely the case that the Government are doing a number of things to support the sector, but getting a review of this mandate brought forward is critical. Part of the problem the industry has is demand, is it not? There have been some initiatives to spike demand. What are the Government doing themselves in ter…”

“I mean manufacturing. In terms of Government and public sector purchases of vehicles, how many are UK manufactured? How many are electric? Is there a drive within the public sector to support the industry through that?”

“We are nearly a year into this now. Where are we doing well in terms of implementing the strategy? Where could more progress be made?”

“If we look to what other countries have done in terms of the move to electric vehicles, everyone has adjusted their approach in light of the commercial reality. This is only going to go one way, so there is not any reason for delay, is there?”

“Just to follow up, a couple of you have given that specific example of the energy interventions, where some sectors have not been included. Could you illuminate us on the conversation that happens? What is the Government’s response to that legitimate concern?”

“The Chair began to ask you about the impact on energy costs from the middle east conflict. Do you have a sense that the Government have either a short-term or a long-term plan to deal with the potential price shocks from that?”